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Loan consolidation

Hello, I will soon complete my Masters’ Degree in IT … whew! I have student loans of two types: Unsubsidized and Subsidized Federal Stafford loans, both with Key Bank. I also have a loan with Nelnet for my prior 2-year degree in IT at a local college.

I would greatly appreciate any advice, tips, information on the best way to do a loan consolidation. I wish I could say my degrees made me a great deal smarter in the area of finances …

Currently my FICO is around 500. I just achieved a mortgage loan modification with a reduction in interest rate from 12.75% to 6%. I have several late pays on my credit report for my credit cards, but am now current with my accounts, and working the debt snowball.

As an IT professional myself I can say that you have entered one of the most dynamic industries. You can expect to have 3-5 years of employment follow by as much as 6-12 months of unemployment. If you do not have OTJ skills you may not get in at all. Its a flooded market.

It also sounds like you need some classes in money management. Until you are able to take responsibility for your current fiscal situation you are headed for a financial disaster.

Thank you for your response, but unfortunately you are missing a great deal of the story.

I am currently Word Processing Department Manager at a mid-sized national law firm of over 225 lawyers. I have never been out of work since I started working 25 years ago. My current firm, in fact, offered me a position in our IT Department, but I declined in favor of my current position, which is very stable.

Part of the reason I got my current job (and a 12 1/2% salary increase after my first year’s review) was because of my Associates’ Degree in IT – they wanted someone to run the department who has an IT background and can help IT with projects (especially testing), and take on Help Desk duties for Microsoft applications.

My plan in continuing on with my education to get my Masters’ Degree in IT is so that I can eventually transition out of the legal field and into a teaching position – which I hope will take me well past retirement age (I don’t like the idea of retirement, I have to have something to do).

The local college where I got my Associates’ Degree is already in discussions with me to hire me as a part-time adjunct instructor as soon as I complete my Masters’ Degree this December. So once I start getting some teaching under my belt, hopefully I can transition gradually over the next ten years into full-time teaching.

Perhaps student loans weren’t the best way to go, but as for the rest of it, I am afraid you have a completely wrong picture of me and my work history.